Pakistani Family Threatened For Refusing To Kill Daughter Who Was Raped

**witchcurlgirl** · September 29th, 2011, 08:51 AM

Kainat Soomro says that when she was 13, she was kidnapped and gang raped. The authorities won't prosecute the case, but that's isn't even her biggest problem. Her family was expected to commit an honor killing, but instead they tried to help her prosecute the rapists. Now they're being attacked and getting death threats.

The Atlantic reports that Kainat, who is now 17, has become a local celebrity for her efforts to have her alleged rapists prosecuted. However, the notoriety has also made her family a target. She says that in 2007,

"I was walking home from my school and I went to the store to buy a toy for my niece ... While I was looking at things a guy pressed a handkerchief on my nose. I fainted and was kidnapped. Then four men gang raped me."

After days in captivity she was able to escape, but once she got home the police refused to investigate. Then tribal elders declared her kari, or "black female," for having sex outside of marriage.

Despite the pressure to commit an honor killing, her family they refused. "It is the tradition, but if the family doesn't permit it, then it won't happen. My father, my brother, my mom didn't allow it," says Kainat. She escaped a fate that's disturbingly common in the country. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, in 2009 about 46% of all female murders in the country were done to preserve the family's honor. It's believe that the real figure is even higher, as families often say the girl committed suicide.

The family says they've been attacked multiple times, and last year Kainat's older brother was killed. Her family believes he was murdered for speaking up about her rape. The most recent incident happened earlier this month. Kainat says her family was attacked by men affiliated with her rapists. After damaging her family's car and apartment they beat her father and brother with iron rods and threatened to kill her. They want her to withdraw the appeal of her case against the men. Kainat already lost her case in a local court due to lack of evidence (which authorities refused to collect), but she says she'll take the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. She says, "I want justice, I will not stop until I get justice."

Pakistani Family Threatened For Refusing To Kill Daughter Who Was Raped

**rockchick** · September 29th, 2011, 10:01 AM

This kind of ancient, barbaric bullshit never ceases to amaze me. Why do the people allow this shit in their government? In the name of religion? Whatevah. Still, good for her for standing up to the scum who basically have a license to rape and kill at will.

**Quazar** · September 29th, 2011, 10:24 AM

I applaud the family for not giving in to "tradition".

Yet another reminder to thank my lucky stars that I was born when I was in my country.

**ManxMouse** · September 29th, 2011, 10:44 AM

That society is stuck a good 300 or so years behind the rest of the world on matters such as this, and the only thing that can help them catch up is international pressure, I suppose.

My question is a stupid one -- do they not love their children as much as we do? Because on a basic evolutionary level, the strength of the love you have for your child should trump all the cultural static of shame, that death is best for her, etc. I'd be interested in the psychology of these people who kill their offspring based on social norms.

**Sarzy** · September 29th, 2011, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by ManxMouse

That society is stuck a good 300 or so years behind the rest of the world on matters such as this, and the only thing that can help them catch up is international pressure, I suppose.

My question is a stupid one -- do they not love their children as much as we do? Because on a basic evolutionary level, the strength of the love you have for your child should trump all the cultural static of shame, that death is best for her, etc. I'd be interested in the psychology of these people who kill their offspring based on social norms.

I've always wondered a similar thing. I just don't know how these families can do it, no matter how much pressure they get. Anyway good on this family.

**Laurent** · September 29th, 2011, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by Quazar

Yet another reminder to thank my lucky stars that I was born when I was in my country.

Man, me, too. This kind of shit is mind-boggling.

**Kat Scorp** · September 30th, 2011, 02:20 AM

Kainat Soomro's courage and strength is awe inspiring. That the majority of Pakistani men would try to protect their rapist brothers and sons is why I hate that country and REFUSED to donate when it was facing floods last year. The 2010 statistics were a horror story.

**whitetigeress** · September 30th, 2011, 01:09 PM

What horrifies me is to think back to a time when all this was fully acceptable (in how many countries?!). How many females of any age have been raped and killed? The number must be astounding!
This much I do know, in the case of my biological (I'm adopted) maternal grandmother, she was kidnapped, raped then had to marry her rapist when pregnant only to be killed years later. I asked my great aunt why... she said that is just what they do.

I don't think I want to know more.

I'll pray for this family's safety is success to the girls' quest.

**bellini** · September 30th, 2011, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by Quazar

I applaud the family for not giving in to "tradition".

Yet another reminder to thank my lucky stars that I was born when I was in my country.

You said it! They are so backwards it's like it's Opposite Day every day. A girl is raped so she is killed? I can't even begin to understand the reasoning behind that. Why not shame and persecute the rapists? Bizarre.

**Honey** · September 30th, 2011, 03:39 PM

She and her family are amazing

**olivia** · October 2nd, 2011, 03:16 PM

Originally Posted by ManxMouse

My question is a stupid one -- do they not love their children as much as we do? Because on a basic evolutionary level, the strength of the love you have for your child should trump all the cultural static of shame, that death is best for her, etc. I'd be interested in the psychology of these people who kill their offspring based on social norms.

Great damn question!

I read a Marvin Harris explanation of the honor killing business once. He's was a materialist anthropologist, whatever that means.

Harris thinks that when societies become so poor, and babies are too much of a burden on a fragile societal system, that young women are sacrificed first. Killing babies is never okay, in any culture. The next best thing is to kill girls at early puberty before they breed.

It isn't easy. People love their kids. So the society has to invent strong mythical reasons to kill them, ie virgin sacrifices to the gods. The poor Muslim cultures that practice honor killings are basically doing the same - inventing uncleanliness in raped girls for an excuse to kill them.

The societal pressure is so strong, based in such overwhelming mythologies, that any other relief for the production of babies (like birth control) isn't even acknowledged. The reasons to kill girls have to be connected to Salvation or Family Honor or Environmental Catastrophe to get families to kill one of their children. These societies don't want to see babies as the problem at all, because babies are sacred everywhere. So defiled filthy whores or gods who want virgins or "misfit" girls sent to nunneries or asylums are an brutal attempts to control population growth.

So, why not boys? Because boys can be sacrificed to wars for the resources of neighboring lands. Boys can kill the farmers in the next valley and steal their cattle and wheat. Naturally, young dead warriors become heroes rather than dirty whores or virgin wives to gods.

Before jumping on the primitive Muslims too hard, it needs acknowledging that the Quiver Full movements in the USA (as well as other fundamentalist ideologies) are headed down the same path in dealing with tainted girls. They may not be killing them (yet) but the hardships foisted on women in those ideologies are just a hair's breath away from making female life expendable or undesirable. Mothers are less likely to fight for the lives of their daughters if they believe that lives of females are inherently miserable by divine decree in the only book they are allowed to read.

**electrocuted_sheep** · October 4th, 2011, 02:10 AM

I don't know about the fact that all babies are considered sacred in every culture. In China, baby girls, due to the one-child policy, are still being dumped on the street because boys are still highly coveted, and in the Middle East, many, many years ago, (before the advent of Islam, so probably hundreds of years ago), in times of poverty, all the female babies were gathered and buried alive. I also just looked up honour killings, and a baby boy was suffocated to death recently because he was born out of wedlock.

But I think most of what he said rings true especially in that it occurs in poor countries.

**olivia** · October 8th, 2011, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by electrocuted_sheep

I don't know about the fact that all babies are considered sacred in every culture. In China, baby girls, due to the one-child policy, are still being dumped on the street because boys are still highly coveted, and in the Middle East, many, many years ago, (before the advent of Islam, so probably hundreds of years ago), in times of poverty, all the female babies were gathered and buried alive. I also just looked up honour killings, and a baby boy was suffocated to death recently because he was born out of wedlock.

But I think most of what he said rings true especially in that it occurs in poor countries.

Yeah, I liked Harris back in college because his perspective was so radical but it's certainly not complete or conclusive.

Following his line of thought about other superstitions and totems, the pervasiveness of Holy Mother and Infant Jesus through the art of the Xtian world *might* have been a desperate effort to prevent mothers from killing infants in times of hardship and struggle. Europe was a horrible place to live for hundreds of years. Creating such a strong totem of Holy Mother (who barely exists in the Bible) probably kept a lot of babies alive.

**Sleuth** · October 8th, 2011, 08:02 PM

Stories like this make me so angry. So fed up with primitive cultural/religious beliefs fucking with the lives of innocent people. This woman and her family are incredibly brave and I wish more people in that country would take a stand.

**SuriCruise** · October 8th, 2011, 10:48 PM

This is so horrible to read. A rape victim brings shame on her family but her rapists bring no shame on themselves or their families? I can't even comprehend that or how anyone can believe it. The victim blaming and the honour mentality are just disgusting. Women are possessions and second rate citizens there, only good for breeding and looking after the home. I hope their society catches up with the rest of the world sooner rather than later.